1. Field of Invention
This invention relates generally to ozone (O.sup.3) generators and in particular to a portable, compact ozone generator to produce a source of ozone for various uses such as air odor removal and air purification.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Ozone generators are well known in the prior art. Ozone is a naturally occurring oxygen compound designated as O.sup.3 and comprises a blue gaseous allotrope of oxygen derived or formed naturally from diatomic oxygen on electric discharge or exposure to ultraviolet radiation. As it is well known, ozone is an unstable, powerfully bleaching poisonous oxidizing agent with a pungent irritating odor used to purify and deodorize air, to sterilize water, and as a bleach. Because of its practical use, ozone generators have been developed to produce ozone artificially for its commercial application. Most ozone generators are large, bulky systems that remain in a fixed location.
Portable ozone generators which produce ozone from ambient air require an external source of dry oxygen (such as pressurized bottled gas). Small portable ozone generators that utilize ambient air as a feed gas typically produce inconsistent amounts of ozone which are dependent upon the humidity, temperature, contamination and oxygen content of the available air source. Because of the abundance of nitrogen in ambient air as a percentage of oxygen, when separating nitrogen and oxygen, as the humidity increases, more nitrous oxide is produced which therefore reduces the number of oxygen atoms available to produce ozone. Generating ozone with nitrogen present produces deleterious nitrous oxides, resulting in nitric acid formation often within both the generator and the air stream expelled by the generator. Such nitric acid in the generator can severely corrode the equipment with a resultant loss of ozone production and often irreversible damage to the equipment. If the ozone generator is utilized in an area occupied by air breathing mammals including human beings, the expelled nitric oxide and nitric acid can be a respiratory irritant.
Some small portable ozone generators utilize an external source of dry oxygen such as a pressurized bottled gas. Small pressurized oxygen bottles of the type carried by patients with severe respiratory limitations might be considered portable but unfortunately do not provide a sufficient amount of oxygen for extended operation. Therefore, pressurized oxygen in a bottle of sufficient size would not be portable for abundant production of ozone. Large oxygen storage tanks under high pressure require sophisticated storage knowledge for safety reasons, and are extremely heavy and bulky.
The present invention provides an efficient, consistent, continuous source of ozone from a portable ozone generator that can be used with any available conventional electrical power source including ordinary 120 volt household AC current. As an example, in one application the device weights 34 lbs. and produces two grams pure ozone per hour. Lighter and heavier units can be made having proportionately less and more ozone outputs.